Electrical Connectors are often used in electronic devices to connect a PCB to another PCB or external devices. A PCB connector usually comprises a receiving member or a receptacle that is mounted to the PCB and a plug member. Each of the receptacle and plug members comprise arrays of electrical terminals. The housing of the receptacle and plug members are designed to cooperably mate with each other such that in an engaged position electrical connections are established between the respective electrical terminals of the receptacle and plug member.
A typical connector comprises a dielectric housing containing an assembly of a plurality of electrical terminals of dimensions and pitch which are designed according to the specific usage. Often, electrical terminals are grouped in a plurality of arrays. Each array usually has a plurality of electrical terminals of the same pitch.
FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of an existing SAS (serially attached SCSI) receptacle 10. The elongate receptacle 10 comprises a dielectric housing which is moulded to accommodate the electrical terminals 7. The receptacle 10 has three sets of arrays, 1, 2, and 3, of terminals 7 arranged on different planes of the receptacle. The terminals 7 are housed in respective chambers 5.
When designing a connector as shown in FIG. 1, factors such as signal integrity are of concern especially for fine pitched (e.g. 0.8 mm pitch) terminals. Parameters, such as cross-talk, are a problem especially in high frequency data transfer application. In particular, cross-talk is significant between fine-pitched terminals.